Reflective Paper: My experience from the MOOC

Maria Koutroumpousi

Introduction

Nowadays, the technology continues to transform education in providing educational

content in both traditional and online form, as the recent proliferation of Free Online

Massively Courses (MOOC) demonstrates (Guthrie, 2012). The MOOC, for the first

time in official educational space was mentioned in 2008 (Liyanagunawardena, Adams

& Williams, 2013). Gained significant popularity in 2012, when Stanford University

offered the first lesson based on this format (Sonwalkar, 2013). In MOOC titled

"Introduction to Artificial Intelligence," registered 160,000 students but only 23,000

managed to complete (Breslow et al., 2013). Karsenti (2013) reports that the New York

Times named the 2012 as "the year of MOOC", while other researchers consider it "as

the most important experiment in higher education". Marshall (2013) notes that the

followers of synergies in the open see MOOC Cyber character considering the MOOC

as the vehicle for creating a global learning community. The openly Eurosceptic treat

MOOC as a kind of Trojan horse, who will invade the space of higher education

deteriorates learning and turning it into a direct but empty of content learning experience

(Marshall, 2013).

What is a MOOC?

A MOOC aims in a large-scale interactive participation and open access of users

through the Internet (Karsenti, 2013). The acronym MOOC exudes the very idea of its

arrest: ' massive ' (massively) because they are designed to allow the entry of tens of

thousands learners, ' open ' (free) because everyone with an Internet connection can

subscribe to the free course, "online" (online) because the interaction takes place via

Internet, discussion groups or/and video lessons monitoring and of course, do not cease

to be "courses" (courses) because, have specific start and end dates and evaluation of

trainees. A MOOC usually involves traditional pedagogical resources related to those

used in traditional academic classes: quizzes, discussions, schedules, assessment tools,

etc. However, the key feature of MOOC is the use of video lessons through which the

instructor gives a lecture to trainees. These are usually in the form of flash or Keynote

presentations, often of high quality and based on the model of "mini-courses" that first

introduced Khan Academy in 2006. Most MOOC do not support communication

between teachers and learners (Kop & Carroll, 2011) particularly those that attract a

very large number of participants. Kolowich (2013) found that the interaction between

103 MOOC trainers and their trainees was limited on average in posting one comment

on the Bulletin Board each week. Two are the most common methods of evaluation of

learners: either through the creation of multiple choice quizzes and automated

management of responses from the platform or through the evaluation of work of users

by other users.

However, in both methods there are identified problems relating to the management and

their severity (Karsenti, 2013). Kolowich (2013) stresses that the trainees enrolled in a

MOOC cannot expect to obtain systematic feedback from the instructor. This is the price

to be paid for the education of thousands of learners. Upon successful completion a

MOOC, some academic institutions may offer a certificate of successful attendance.

Describing my experience from the MOOC

I started the MOOC Canvas full of curiosity about what I will meet. The name of the

course I took was: Learning to Learn OnLine. At the beginning I felt that I was lost. The

videos helped me quite a bit. I read the theory first, and then I did the exercises. I was

logging in the MOOC two times a week, because of my professional and family

obligations. But when I was working I was committed and I was trying to figure out

everything that I read. The questionnaires were not always easy, but the possibility of

recurrence helped me a lot. Sometimes I made it on the first try, but sometimes it took

me two or three times to succeed.

The path was smooth. I liked that the doctrine began with theoretical knowledge and

information: In every module there was something new to learn about in a very pleasant

way and I was given some answers to the following questions: “What is knowledge?

What is learning? What are the learning theories?” It is very important in my opinion to

get the theoretical background that you need in order to go to more practical matters and

to exercise upon your knowledge. I find this method very successful. The videos, the

readings, the practice activities, the explore activities, the quizzes were a continuum and

every time I knew what I would face.

I also find contact with my facilitator (Nanci) very clever, because I had my dedicated

space either for connecting or for reading other discussions.

As a result of my participation in the MOOC I learned the following:

MOOC is very effective for people like me who don't have a specific time for reading,

and have, in addition to their planned professional obligations, many other catch.

Through a MOOC you can learn, you can exercise what you’ ve learned, you can see

what others have learned, you are able to express your feelings and your impressions.

All of these have a goal of course: To help you learn, to improve your learning skills

and to realise that you have learned and what you have learned. You can become peer,

coach and director of your own learning, MOOC environment is not competitive and

does not cause stress. MOOC gives feedback instantly and does not allow you to feel

disappointed. So knowledge becomes joy and is absorbed better and for a long period

of time.

A more detailed interpretation of what I have gained from my

experience from MOOC

Through MOOC Canvas I met my instructors Dr Caroline Park and Prof Iain

McPherson. I watched their inspiring videos. The course was organized by modules.

Within each module were topics and activities. Each module finished with a summary

page which included an activity and an end-of-module quiz. Successful completion of

the quiz for all five modules, allowed me to download a Certificate of Completion for

the course.

In “Learning to Learn On Line” everything started with the question: “What is

knowledge?” After reading the definitions provided on Canvas and searched the web

for more, I agreed that it takes time and effort to gain knowledge because you have to

become familiar with the information or the skills which are necessary.

Next critical question was: “What is Learning?” After reading the information provided

on Canvas I agreed with the thought: "Learning is an enduring change in behaviour or

in the capacity to behave in a given fashion, which results from practice or other forms

of experience."

(Schunk, Dale H., 2012, - Learning Theories, An Educational Perspective, p. 3)

Then Learning Theories followed. It is well known that people prefer to learn through

different methods. They are using different types of input and delivery methods.

Online Learning is full of benefits because it suits with modern man’s lifestyle. It also

provides high quality learning experience. As I learned through MOOC: online learning

is flexible, convenient and accessible.

MOOC Canvas showed me that there are various types and purposes of online learning

environments, but we see some general characteristics that have emerged in web-based

learning: a-synchronous communication mostly text-based, self-reflection, anonymity,

flexibility of time and place and independent learning. As an OnLine course, MOOC

differs from face-to-face Learning because there is no need of a physical presence.

MOOC made it clear for me that online learning can offer good quality of academic

experience combined with fun and flexibility. Before taking the MOOC I believed that

online courses through MOOC are less work than real courses. That isn’t true. Also

MOOC isn’t a lonely place. You can find many colleagues and friends too. You can ask

for help from your instructor and interact with your peers.

If someone wishes to gain access to a chosen MOOC must have an internet connection

and some computer skills. There is no need to be an expert. After gaining access, must

have uninterrupted willingness to learn on line, otherwise there is a strong possibility to

drop out.

The MOOC’s attribute which helped me a lot was that of "reward." In every module I

took grades. To complete successfully a module I had to answer correctly at 8 of the 10

questions. This kind of extrinsic reward helped me a lot. But there were also intrinsic

rewards: writing on Padlet wall I felt like creating in collaboration with all those who at

the same time were writing their opinions on the same wall with me. Equality is

something that I need a lot in order to be motivated.

MOOC allowed me to use the common tools of OnLine Learning: i) Internet Searches ii)

Social Media and iii) Learning Management System (LMS).

i) Web pages, blogs and academic journals are the results of Internet Searching

ii) Using Social media combines interaction and knowledge

iii) LMS is an online learning environment – in my case Canvas - where I posted

content, I interact with excersices etc

To adapt to MOOC’s environment I had to do good time management, be

communicative and have social presence. It was also very necessary to accept

technology and to have patience with it. Independent learning is the basic goal and a

distance learning student can work as a student and as an instructor.

Communication helps the online learning process and is quite different to

communication in face-to-face learning. Online communication mostly takes place with

a-synchronous interaction and textually.

Taking the Quizzes

I scored 9/10 (4th

attempt) in module 1 quiz. There were questions about: the types of

knowledge, the learning process, learning styles, the types of learning theories

In module 2 quiz I scored 8/10 (2nd

attempt). There were questions about: attributes and

benefits of online learning, differences between online learning and face-to-face

learning,

In module 3 quiz I scored 8/10 (2nd

attempt). I gave answers to questions about:

characteristics of a learning environment, “barriers to entry” to online learning

environments, delivery methods of an online learning environment, rewards, common

tools of OnLine Learning

In module 4 quiz I scored 8/10 (1st attempt). There were questions about:

communication activities, characteristic of online communication, habits practiced by

successful online learners

In module 5 quiz I scored 8/10 (1st attempt). I gave answers to questions about: the need

of computer skills, strategies for adapting to online learning, online learning

opportunities

Taking the User’s Experience Survey

By ending “Learning to Learn OnLine”:

I agreed that the course activities (discussions, assignments, projects, quizzes) and the

course materials (lectures, videos, documents) had a positive impact on my learning

experience

I believe that ideally A Canvas Network Course should last 6 – 8 weeks

It doesn’t matter to me whether I access my online course on a tablet, or a smartphone,

or a pc, or a laptop

I expected the amount of effort needed to complete my course

Recent investigation of MOOCs

On April 1st 2015 a joint MIT and Harvard University research team published one of

the largest investigations of massive open online courses (MOOCs) to date.

The results from this research adds another year of data in an earlier research done

regarding the functioning of the first year of open online courses launched on edX.

Andrew Ho, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, says: “We

explored 68 certificate-granting courses, 1.7 million participants, 10 million participant-

hours, and 1.1 billion participant-logged events.”

Isaac Chuang, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science and senior

associate dean of digital learning at MIT together with Andrew Ho, led a collective

effort and worked out the intentions of the MOOC participants and their demographic

information. They particularly examined the evidence of those who persistently engage

in MOOCs and those who take more than one course.

“What jumped out for me was the survey that revealed that in some cases as many as 39

percent of our learners are teachers” Chuang says. “This finding forces us to broaden our

conceptions of who MOOCs serve and how they might make a difference in improving

learning.”

The most important findings

Participation in HarvardX and MITx open online courses has grown steadily, while

participation in repeated courses has declined and then stabilized

A slight majority of MOOC takers are seeking certification, and many participants are

teachers

Academic areas matter when it comes to participation, certification, and course

networks

Those opting for fee-based ID-verified certificates certify at higher rates

Conclusion

The main benefits of MOOC associated with MOOC’s potential ability to solve

accessibility problems in education, which is related to the distance, the division of time

between work-family-education, and high fees (Hyman, 2012). UNESCO (2012)

recognises their contribution to population universal access to knowledge, as well as the

promotion of the democratisation of education (Barber, 2013). Other researchers point

out the advantages deriving from establishing learning communities (Barber, 2013) and

to develop 21st century learning skills (Hyman, 2012). Karsenti (2013) says that

students who complete a MOOC are generally satisfied. The greatest source of

satisfaction comes from the ability to obtain access to the content of courses offered by a

prestigious University (Karsenti, 2013).

The rising popularity of MOOC has attracted the interest of academic institutions and

private investors. MOOC goes beyond the narrow framework of traditional teaching

and meets the training needs of an ever larger number of people. Undoubtedly, there are

many open research questions about MOOC, with which a researcher could deal.

I personally believe that MOOC is very useful for two reasons: one is related to the

knowledge itself and the second with the possibility to exploit all of these data generated

from the entrance of thousands of people to MOOC. As long as these elements are to be

found in the appropriate hands and in the appropriate brains.

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